Unexpectedly
by xJessicax
Summary: Ron and Hermione share their thoughts after Dumbledore's funeral. Told from Ron's POV.


Author name: Jessica

Task: Uno  
Genre: Romance, I suppose  
Ship: Ron/Hermione  
Story name: Unexpectedly  
Word count: 1,222

Harry walked away, leaving Ron with Hermione. Ron stood firm, his tall form rigid. He had just promised Harry that he and Hermione would go where Harry went, even if it meant leaving Hogwarts. It was not a very hard promise to make; anybody could have, and broken it too. However, Ron meant it from the deepest part of his soul. Harry was his best friend, and Ron wouldn't let Harry go it alone.

Ron turned his eyes to Hermione. She had been so quiet the past week. It was to be expected, of course. For six years Hermione had told Ron and Harry that Snape was to be trusted. Every year after first year when Snape did them a wrong, and especially last year when Snape was giving Harry Occlumency lessons and working inside the headquarter of the Order of the Phoenix; whenever they suspected that Snape was working against the Order, Hermione was the first to come to their teacher's defense.

And yet Professor Snape was the person responsible for Dumbledore's death. What was Ron supposed to say? 'I told you so, Hermione. He was never on our side,'? No, that would certainly not do. It was best left unmentioned.

"Ron?"

Hermione looked up at Ron; her tear-stained face… was she blushing? No, she couldn't be. Hermione did not think about Ron that way, Ron assumed. Ron thought the red creeping up her face must be because she had been crying so much. He let his mind wander back to just fifteen minutes ago, when she had been crying into his shoulder. It was nice, having Hermione so close to him. She fit perfectly in his arms, and he never had wanted to let her go…

"Ron?"

Hermione's voice came more in a confused tone this time, trying to see through Ron's blank stare. "Ron, are you all right?" Hermione asked, waving a hand in front of his face.

Bloody hell, had he really been daydreaming about Hermione? Thinking about Hermione, one of his best friends since first year? No, that was not right. Ron cleared his throat.

"Er, y-yeah, I'm fine," said Ron in a cracked sort of voice. He coughed once more. "Yeah, I'm fine," he repeated. "Are you?"

Hermione looked away. "I suppose I am," she said quietly. "I've just been thinking, you know." Her voice faded away.

"What have you been thinking about?" asked Ron. The pair started to walk towards the other shore of the lake. He looked towards the spot where the centaurs had appeared right before Dumbledore's body was laid to rest.

Hermione mouthed a word that Ron could not understand. She turned even redder and looked at the mossy ground.

"What?" Ron asked.

"Us," said Hermione louder, though her voice was still barely audible. She continued to stare at the earth.

"Oh," said Ron. Why had she been thinking about them? Yes, he had been doing the same half a minute ago, but he did not know if the girl next to him felt the same. He was not even sure if he felt like that. It was far too complicated.

"It would have been a much more pleasant year if we hadn't been fighting with each other," said Hermione unexpectedly.

Ron nodded. It would have been. Something had changed this year about Hermione. She wasn't the bossy know-it-all so much anymore. They had become better friends, but as usual he had blown it.

"Yeah, it would have," said Ron, avoiding contact with Hermione's eyes.

Ron couldn't quite figure it out. He started the year off sincerely hoping that he would be able to start something with Hermione. He had ruined any chance of going to Slughorn's party with her though, by making a stupid comment about Hermione and the McLaggen. He had thought that this was the end of his chances.

'You just had to go and get the first girl that came up to you, didn't you, Ron?' Ron thought. 'Instead of waiting for Hermione, you went for Lavender. That messed things up, it didn't fix anything.' He continued to badger himself, not noticing that Hermione was watching him.

"Are you sure you are okay, Ron?" Hermione asked worriedly. "You don't look too well." She put her hand onto his forehead, causing a shiver to go up his spine.

"I'm fine, Hermione," said Ron, trying to determine whether he liked the feeling or not. There was a moment where they stared into each other's eyes, their faces barely an inch apart. Hermione abruptly took her hand off of his face.

"Oh, sorry," said Hermione. "I just thought maybe you got hit by a jinx or something last week." She paused, speaking very quietly and slowly. "You know, during the battle."

There was something about the quietness of her voice that alarmed Ron. Hermione was evidently blaming herself for something which she could not control. She could not have known that Snape was going to turn on them, and even if she had, Luna and Hermione would not have been able to stop him from leaving his office. Snape would have killed both of them on the spot, and there would be two more funerals to be had.

"Hermione, it's not your fault that Snape got away, you know," said Ron, trying to comfort her. "You did the best you could." He put an encouraging arm around her shoulder, pulling the girl close to his body.

Hermione was silent. She stared into Ron's eyes transfixed. Without any warning, she kissed him lightly on his forehead, right under the line of his flaming red hair.

Ron's forehead was now the same shade of fiery red as his hair. He stammered. "Wh-what was that for?" he asked.

Hermione smiled gently. "For caring," she said simply.

There were several silent moments in which Ron and Hermione stayed standing in that same place, just beneath a tree that bordered the forest. Ron knew that he felt more than friendship for Hermione, but he didn't know how he was supposed to go about telling her that. There was a war going on. Harry needed them.

"Hermione, I-" Ron started, but didn't know how to finish the statement. "I think I- What I mean to say is-"

Hermione looked at him with an expectant stare. "Yes?" she urged him.

"I think-" Ron stuttered. "I think I love you," he blurted out. He breathed a sigh of relief. It was out in the open.

Hermione's stare of confusion turned to a grin of happiness. "You think you do?" she asked happily. As Ron nodded, she said the same. "I think I love you too."

Ron too sported a happy grin. "You do too?" he asked. But his face quickly turned to a frown as he thought of Harry. "But what about Harry? He's going to need us."

Hermione nodded. "I know," she said quietly, "but I can wait."

Ron kissed her in the same way Hermione had done to him, but this time it was on her lips. It was neither long nor hard like the kiss Harry gave Ginny earlier that year, but he had done it. He had kissed Hermione, and that was all that he had wanted.

It had come so unexpectedly, but the sorrowful air that had hung about Hogwarts no longer felt so.


End file.
